chowder

Hello-

Black ice at dusk on a bridge totalled my car. I was going straight (uphill) at the time, and was pinballing before I could react in any way. Luckily no one involved but me, and I think I'm fine. First page of local newspaper next morning said police responded to 60 of these during that exact timeframe, so you can imagine the conditions.

Adding insult to (vehicular) injury, police cited me for "careless driving". I was told this was status quo for being unable to maintain control of my vehicle regardless of weather. Is this true?

The way I see it, I "took one for the team" by having the misfortune of being the first person at the redlight at the bottom of the bridge, and therefore the first car up the hill. Subsequently, they shut down the bridge to salt it.

My body shop guy said "it's time to look for another car." My insurance is handling the claim. I have never made a claim before, so I'm a newbie looking for some forward advice. Please correct me if I'm wrong:

My understanding is next an adjuster will look at the body shop's writeup, then begin a process towards negotiating compensation to make me "whole."

My '99 GS4 was pampered with mobil1, zaino, lexol. 61k mi. Basically showroom new. I was keeping it forever (15+yrs). Should I resign myself to being rewarded poorly for that level of care?

Other than researching Blue Book value, I was trying to get a feel for the salvage value of my car's parts (interior is basically still perfect), so that I'm fully informed when it comes to getting a fair payout. The insurance company reaps the benefit of salvage, correct?

Here are some pictures. Any guidance general/specific is appreciated. The more I can learn from others who've been down this road, the better.

Thanks.

chowder

LEXUS_KID

iTrader: (4)

The car looked MINT sorry about your loss and good luck with your insurance

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Holy cow, how in the heck did the chassis twist and bend like that? It seems like you only hit really hard on the front drivers side, but it seems like every wheel is way out of whack. How fast did you hit the wall and did you spin or hit other stuff?

My friend totaled his car about 2 months ago. After the adjuster came out to look at it, he was cut a check for the full brand new value of the car. It was an 06'! I'm sure they won't do that for your car since your car is already 7+ yrs. If you want to salvage anything from the car(remove aftermarket parts), you better pull it out now because after the adjuster cuts you the check...the car is theirs and the tow truck arrives immediately to tow the car away.

YeShrug

damn I brought mine home through texas' ice ''storm''.


Excersize good judgement with speed...sorry for your loss mang :-/

chuckb

oh man. that sucks. you pampered her all that time to see her go down like this! I feel bad for you, good luck. I can even see you drivers seat(which looks twisted now) was in mint condition.

maybe with your payoff you can get a low mile GS430.

GWELEX

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. You do have the option to buy the car back if it is totaled. Problem is, these are Lexus GS's, stuff lasts forever. So that wreck will be sitting in your yard for a real long time while you try and part it out. The fact you babied it and put the best the fluids possible in it doesn't mean a thing except maybe to the person who buys the engine. If I were you, I would go for the best possible settlement from the insurance company and move on.

ECUgs430

Sorry to hear this man. I was in a similar situation when I slid my grand prix into the wall on an icey bridge. Everything was in slow motion. I felt my wheels lose traction and then I turned sideways and I was like, "No! please stop before the wall, please stop! Bam!" Terrible feeling! Good luck with the insurance and everything.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to here about your beautiful car.. Based on the damage (twisted frame up front), it looks like you were travelling above 35 mph at the time of the accident.. The police AIS (Accident Investigation Squad) are well versed at determining how fast a vehicle might have been travelling at the time, thus your traffic ticket. Got to drive with caution in such conditions in the future.

vicpham

Sorry to hear about your accident. Your GS looks like its rebuildable. But if your insurance totals out the car you want to swap interior?

PRSUIT460

iTrader: (3)

Wow, your car looked well taken care of! What a bummer for you...

Lexy GS430

Accidents suck but good thing you're okay. Time for a brand new GS350 ohhh yeeessss!!!!

milky

iTrader: (9)

Man Sorry about your loss. That sucks, hope you get it taken care of quickly. Get another GS!

PushinLEX

iTrader: (9)

Mannnnnnnn......sorry man. U think your ECT snow button would have helped any? Careful all you guys on the East Coast.

tex75021

that succcckssssss. I think you're better off with it being totaled in the long run. I hit a deer and they paid 10k to fix it. I was happy, but then when it comes time to sell, you never get compensated for the amount you will loose on the back end.

But if you want an 01 430 with a history of smacking a deer, let me know